folded up.

Remember my retro folding chairs that I made Ben go pick up in Ann Arbor and then Emmy generously drove them to DC? See this post for a refresher if you don't! Well, they are all but finished and ready to be used in the backyard.

Here are some before pictures...

This project ended up taking a bit longer than I had anticipated and I also haven't had a whole lot of time to focus on it but step one was washing down the chairs and taking them apart...

 And then I took off the vinyl green covers...

At this point, I measured out and started cutting the fabric down. I got the fabric from Mood Designer Fabrics and I really like it. I actually didn't get to use both sides of it for this project but love how it can be reversed and it has a little stretch to it.

Not pictured now is the process of fitting the fabric over the chairs and stapling it all. It took much longer than expected and didn't turn out as snug and tight as I would have liked, but it seems fine as of now...

At the same time, I used a primer on the metal frames...

And finally got down to spray painting the frames. In full disclosure, I am not totally sold on the color (it's a little too watermelon for me) but it adds a pop of color and we tend to go for a lot of neutrals in the house, so always good to change it up.

And last night, I finally got around to putting the chairs back together. Here is a look at the transformation...

Not bad, right? Here is the full cycle of chair life!

weekender.

This weekend felt long and we packed in a lot.

On Friday night, we went out to Merriweather Post Pavilion to see The Lumineers with Erin, Josh, Em, Nick, Val, Dan and YJ. We bought the tickets months ago and it was a perfect summer night for it.

We drank beer and ate snacks in the parking lot while the sun went down...

The Lumineers were great, they represented Colorado well and the 40,000+ crowd thoroughly enjoyed it...

On Saturday morning, we pulled ourselves up out of bed early and headed to Arlington to visit Shai, Alli, Naama and to meet their new baby Tali! We grabbed bagels at Brooklyn Bagel Bakery which beat any bagel in the District...

We had quality time with Shai and Alli. We played with Naama and of course snuggled with Tali (she is just five pounds right now!)...

We hustled back to our side of town and headed up to Union Market to check out the Farm to Street Party...

About 125 vendors were featured to emphasize local food and ventures. We bought ourselves some Zeke's coffee (Baltimore based) and tasted a little bit of everything from pickles to iced coffee concentrate.

We also popped into A. Litteri (that I had mentioned here before) just to check it out and see what the inside is like. It was very cool. Total hole in the wall filled floor to ceiling with italian products and pastas and sauces. In the back is a deli counter where they make up subs and sandwiches. We will definitely heading back when we are hungry to try it....

Saturday night we headed over to Boundary Stone to celebrate Roy's birthday.

We were a little early and so we crossed the street to check out this new store front we noticed, Show Time. It was a great dive bar and we talked to the owner while we were in there. If we lived just a little closer we would probably go here all the time. He said they had just opened about a month ago.

It poured rain on Saturday night for a while so we all moved inside and grabbed a spot inside Boundary Stone and enjoyed the forced indoors. Love the Flying Dog can....

Sunday we mostly laid low. We went up to the farmer's market at Union Market and we sat out on the front porch drinking coffee and watching neighbors head to church across the street...

We also cleaned, hosed the backyard and I worked on my folding chairs (update on that coming very soon!). Oh yeah, and for dinner, we finally went to The Big Board and tried a burger (I can't believe it has been two years since I posted about them!) It was Emmy's last night in DC for the summer (can you believe it?) so we went with Emmy, Ryan and Jen...the burgers were fantastic. As of today, we would all say the best in the District. Seriously, they are that good.

Last but not least, Ben and I started watching Friday Night Lights yesterday and we are hooked. Three episodes in and we just want to hang out on the couch all day every day together so we can plow through the show.  Have you watched it?!

vased.

We had some complications with West Elm when we ordered our bed frames and chair from them last month and so they sent us an $80 gift card. Predictably, that card is burning a hole in my pocket. I am thinking we should definitely get one of these Ceramic Floral Bucket Vases. Thoughts? If you're not convinced, they are on sale!

illuminated.

It's a beautiful summer Friday and we are headed out to Virginia to see the Lumineers tonight! Very much looking forward to a night of music with friends....

djuna djuna djuna.

Baby Djuna has arrived! She took her time (10 days after the due date!) but July 25th is the official birth date. I am a very proud aunt yet again and so excited to meet her soon and see Stella be a big sister. Wish I was in California to be a part of baby time today...congrats to Jordan + Hannah + Stella - job well done!

dating scene.

Ben took me on a date night yesterday. We met at McPherson square after work. He wouldn't tell me where we were going despite my best efforts to get details out of him for the couple of days before. We jumped on the bus and headed up to the U Street area and ended up at Hanoi House (I mentioned it before here). Maketto Market is an Asian market scheduled to open on H Street hopefully by the end of the year (click here to read more about it on Eater) but Ben got us reservations for the pop-up restaurant with the chefs in Hanoi House!

It was fantastic. We got drinks at the bar and talked with a chef at Impala, a restaurant coming soon. And then we got started on the main attraction. The food was really tasty and parts of it definitely took us back to Vietnam. This salad with pork and spring rolls mixed in was fantastic!

The morning glory with a ragu sauce might have been the best bite last night. And oh how I miss morning glory!

Mid meal they rolled a cart by with a la carte plates...

We of course tried out some steamed buns...

In all, we had seven courses of great food. Including this dessert with crushed ice, fruit, and a medley of other very good stuff...

It was a great school-night date. We rode the bus home and got in bed by 10:30! And I needed a good date with Ben. To his credit, I have been having a rough go of it of late and he has been unbelievably steady and good to me with lots of loving advice and support - so in reality he was the one who really deserved a date night!

point of power.

My last year of college, I interned in Hillary's senate office in Albany and my drive was a long 45 minutes to and from the office. I spent a good three months of that year listening to Master of the Senate by Robert Caro while driving. It was without question one of the most impressive and capitavating books I have ever read. Caro himself is an interesting and odd personality, he has dedicated his life to writing volumes on Johnson, and defines Johnson as one of the most brilliant yet manipulative political figures in American history. The book remains one of my most formative reads.

Last year, Caro published the fourth volume on Johnson, The Passage of Power. It has been on my list to read, but it is so long and dense I have been putting it off! Until now that is. We were at drinks earlier this week with friends and they were talking about how the New Yorker printed a chapter of Caro's book last year. The chapter they printed tells the day when JFK was shot, of course from the vantage point of and with a focus on Johnson. I didn't want to get off the metro yesterday reading it. I am now primed to finally start reading The Passage of Power. Reading this chapter reminded me just how interesting Johnson is and how hypnotizing Caro's writing is. In short, and if nothing else, you should go read this New Yorker piece, The Transition Lyndon Johnson and the events in Dallas, and see where it takes you!

fatty fatty crab.

Way back when, before Ben and I were dating, we would go on what Ben refers to as "awkward friend dates". We overlapped in NYC for a year and about half-way through that year I was really liking Ben but by that point, I was wondering what he was thinking. Anyway, what really sealed the deal for me was one friend date when we went to Fatty Crab for dinner in the west village. It was one of those meals that just blew our mind. We still talk about it (especially the watermelon appetizer with pork!).  It was cozy and beautiful in the restaurant, very much a New York moment where the food and atmosphere all came together. It was also right when Fatty Crab was on the verge of going big and to Ben's credit, he scouted it out early. Most importantly, Ben was funny and handsome and charming and so great to be around that I could have stayed hours longer!

Anyway, that Fatty Crab meal holds a special place. And, I actually don't know that I ever want to go back because it was just that good and I doubt could ever be as good. But, all of this is to get to the big news that something in the Fatty Crab family is coming to DC soon...take a look at this Eater piece from today.

simple pleasures.

It's the small things in life, right? Well, these three simple delights have been keeping me happy lately...

Our tree in the front yard in bloom (just as Molly told us it would!)....

 This basil from the farmer's market and picking off basil leafs to add to our dishes...

Ben got back late this afternoon and cooked me up this fantastic summer pasta...